Objects such as wafers are manufactured by highly complicated manufacturing processes. These manufacturing processes should be monitored in order to ensure the quality of the wafers.
The monitoring process may include a first phase of an optical, ultraviolet, deep ultraviolet or extreme ultraviolet inspection to detect suspected defects and a second phase of defect review.
Defect review is usually executed by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that exhibits a very high resolution (nanometric order).
The field of view of the SEM is relatively small and does not include the entire wafer. A review of suspected effects of a wafer requires an introduction of mechanical movements between the wafer and electron optics of the SEM as well as scans of the suspected defects with an electron beam. Each mechanical movement may be followed by a navigation process for navigating toward a suspected defect. Both the mechanical movement and the navigation process are time consuming.
There is a growing need to accelerate the defect review.